Earlier this year (Feb. 2015), Facebook announced a new feature that allows Facebook users to designate a legacy contact to manage their Facebook account when they pass away. According to facebook.com, a legacy contact is,...more

It used to be enough for a fiduciary and her attorney to simply search through a decedent’s or incapacitated person’s papers in his or her workplace and at home, watch the mailbox for a 90 day cycle, and review tax returns...more

On June 8, 2015, it was reported that the California legislature is considering a new bill, A.B. 691, which would set forth the procedure for handling a deceased individual’s digital assets, including their social media...more

Most people do not think about the large digital footprint that they have created. More importantly, they do not think about how their digital assets might pass (or not) at death. Since these assets may have value, either...more

If you use a computer, you likely have digital assets that should be addressed as part of your estate planning. Access to digital assets is governed by an evolving and complicated technical and legal framework, including...more

While individuals will eventually pass on, the internet is forever. Online accounts from games, apps and social media are becoming increasingly valuable. In an age of expanding online presence, estate planners and...more

More online digital companies are providing users the ability to control what happens to their accounts after death.
For example, Facebook now allows you to name a “legacy contact” to manage your Facebook page after...more

Forced friendship. A committee of the Arkansas Senate is expected to vote this week on a bill that would allow companies and other organizations responsible for supervising minors to require their employees to include a...more

Late last week Facebook released several new features that will aid in the management of a user’s account after the user’s death. While there has been little notification of these features on Facebook itself, the new features...more

Access to digital assets following an individual's death continues to be a hot topic, and once again has made the news. This time, Facebook has announced a new feature called a "Legacy Contact." Essentially, this is the...more

More and more of the music, movies, and books we own exist only online, in digital form. What happens to these collections after the owner dies? Surprisingly, while you may want your heirs to have access to the books, music...more

As we become an increasingly technology-dependent society, so much of what we do is online. Between email, Facebook, photos, music and documents stored online or in the cloud, most of us will have built a considerable online...more

The term “digital assets” has become an umbrella term for all manner of assets, including airline rewards, hotel points, e-mail accounts, domain names, online bank accounts, social networking accounts (e.g., Facebook), data...more

For the first time ever, an Arizona state court has recognized that individuals enjoy a right of publicity that protects them from the unauthorized use of their name or likeness for commercial or trade purposes. In its April...more

Halloween is a good time to think about how you want to die. Do you want to leave the world peacefully? Or do you want to go down trash talking, making sure that your enemies know exactly what you think about them, and that...more

Traditionally, a person’s most valuable assets to be distributed upon death consisted of tangible items such as real property, cash, jewelry and personal effects of sentimental value like photographs and letters. However, the...more

Complimentary TCPA Update Webinar: The Year in Review and What Lies Ahead -
One year has passed since the implementation of the Federal Communication Commission’s revised Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules....more

On August 12, Delaware Governor Jack A. Markell signed the Digital Access and Digital Accounts Act, the first law in the nation to comprehensively govern access to a person’s digital assets, including social media and email...more

Delaware has become the first state to enact the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (the "Act") The Uniform Law Commission describes the act as a law "that will vest fiduciaries with at least the authority to...more

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